Parental Figure
by Trolliworm1993
Summary: In which things get out of hand with Kogorou and Conan, so Conan hangs out with Hattori and Kazuha for a weekend in Osaka. Warning: It does mention physical abuse, so those who aren't good with that please don't read I'm not trying to make Kogorou out to be a bad guy whatsoever, so please don't send me a lot of hate! .
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Ne, Oji-chan, isn't the way that wire hanging off the curtain weird?" Conan, a.k.a Shinichi, asked in his 'kid' voice, pointing at the mentioned wire at the latest crime scene. Mouri Kogorou just about had it with this brat interrupting the investigation. He picked the brat up by the scruff of his neck.

"Now, listen here brat, this is the last time, don't interrupt the investigation again!" Kogorou yelled practically in the kid's face. He swore he saw shock cross the kids face before he just nodded, looking at the floor. Kogorou sighed and put the kid down and the kid went into the other room. Why was that kid always like that? He always got in the way. Then again, now that Kogorou thought about it, he seemed to always point stuff out that turned out to be useful later on in the investigation. Kogorou turned his attention towards the wire that the kid mentioned earlier. It was just barely hanging there by a thread. He didn't really know what to make of it yet, but he knew it had something to do with the culprit who murdered the latest victim. It might have a hand in how the culprit pulled off a closed room murder too.

Conan frowned, trying to figure out how he was going to get out of his current dilemma. That was the fifth time Kogorou had caught him in the last hour. If he was caught again, then Kogorou will get really angry and Conan will receive another lecture from Ran after getting the crap knocked out of him again. Was Kogorou always like this? Shinichi couldn't remember much from the time when he was actually 7. He'd been too busy reading books in his father's study or dragging Ran all over the neighborhood getting into all sorts of trouble with the police for trying to solve their investigations. Sometimes his father would get a call from Kogorou because Shinichi had gotten Ran into trouble that day and then his father would let Kogorou lecture Shinichi over the phone. Of course, Shinichi did feel bad for getting Ran into trouble at the time, but it never stopped him from doing it again. He couldn't help it if Ran was with him when a murder happened. What is he thinking? Shinichi thought shaking his head. He shouldn't be thinking about things like this now; not when there was a case to be solved.

About another hour later, with Conan's help, the case had been solved. Kogorou didn't remember what happened, but that was the usual. The only thing different was that Kogorou seemed to be grouchier than normal and it was especially weird since they had just solved the case. Conan decided not to question Kogorou about it since he had already aggravated the older detective enough today. It was later on that night, when they were all in bed that something happened. Kogorou got up in the middle of the night and tripped over Conan for the millionth time since the kid started staying there. "Are you okay, Oji-chan?" Conan asked in genuine concern. Kogorou glared at the boy.

"You know, this wouldn't happen almost every night if you weren't here." Conan froze at the words. Had Kogorou finally gotten tired of Conan's presence? "I'm not even joking. Seriously, why can't your parents just come and take you? Why do I have to put up with you?"

"O-Oji-chan, are you-"

"No, just get out of my sight!" Suddenly Conan's left cheek stung and his glasses were sliding across the floor. Kogorou seemed to have come to his sense as his eyes widen in shock. "No, I'm sorry, Conan. I'm such a fool, I didn't," Conan shook his head though before the older man could continue.

"It's okay Oji-chan, I understand." Conan, no Shinichi knew when he wasn't wanted. He grabbed his faux glasses, put on some clothes, and before he headed out the door, he said, "I'll be at Professor Agasa's house if Ran nee-chan asks. Thank you for taking care of me." He bowed slightly to the shocked detective before he finally left the house-made detective agency. Shinichi had never been hit like that before, not even Ran had done that to him and he was sure he'd made her angry more than once to deserve that. But he knew even before he started staying there that Kogorou would finally get tired of the arrangement and snap eventually, but that didn't stop the hurt that crawled into the young detective's heart. He really respected Kogorou not only as a detective but as a father figure too. Shinichi understood his father's reasons for not being around much, but that didn't change the fact that Shinichi wished his father was always around like Kogorou. Kogorou showed how much he cared for Shinichi in his own way, even when Shinichi was younger.

Shinichi remembered the time he and Ran went to America and he overheard Kogorou saying how irresponsible Shinichi's parents were to let two kids ride on a plane all by themselves. Shinichi at the time felt a stab of annoyance towards the man but deep inside he was happy that he cared. Shinichi wasn't saying that his parents didn't care. He knew it was the complete opposite. They just couldn't get away from their busy schedules to meet up with them. "Kudo-kun? What are you doing here?" Shinichi looked up to see Haibara sitting out on the porch.

"Uh, Mouri seems to have gotten tired of me living there so," Shinichi said with a shrug.

"So you came here?" It was dark, so he couldn't see Haibara's face. She sounded tired. Shinichi nodded. "You do realize you can't stay here right?" She asked sounding worried.

"I know," Shinichi sighed. "Don't worry I'm just staying for the night. I'll figure something out tomorrow." She nodded and stood up. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked as the two walked down the hallway. She shrugged.

"My sister has been visiting me in my dreams." She said nonchalantly. Shinichi knew better though.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Shinichi said feeling bad.

"Don't be. So how did this all start?" She asked curiously.

"Well, I know I annoyed him like I usually do when there's a case, but then after it was solved he seemed to be in a bad mood for some reason and then not too long ago, he woke up and tripped over me again. I guess he forgot I was lying on the floor." Shinichi said shrugging.

"Wait, you sleep on the floor there?" Haibara asked surprised.

"Yeah, it's not too bad." Shinichi said shrugging. "Anyways, like I said, he tripped over me, yelled at me, and then this happened." He pointed at his now red cheek. It still stung.

"He hit you." She said frowning.

"Yeah," Shinichi said still feeling shocked that it happened.

"That's not right. Was he like that when you were really 7?" Haibara asked still frowning.

"No, he wasn't. But honestly I think he's just stressed out about the whole situation and I guess he took it out on the first person he saw." Shinichi said like it was no big deal. He knew it sounded like he was trying to justify Oji-chan's actions, but that was how he felt. Mouri Kogorou wasn't abusive to his family and Shinichi knows it. He just wasn't sure why he was hit. She sighed.

"It's still not right to hit someone because you're stressed out." She said narrowing her eyes at him.

"I know. I didn't really think it would hurt this much though." Shinichi muttered the last part absentmindedly as he gingerly cupped his red cheek. _Somehow I don't think he's talking about his cheek._ Haibara thought frowning still. She'd never seen Kudo-kun look so upset and hurt before. Did this man really mean that much to Kudo-kun? No, a better question would be, did this man not realize how much he meant to Kudo-kun?

"I'll go get some extra blankets and a pillow." She said as they entered her room. Shinichi nodded and waited for her to return. When she did, she set the blankets on the floor. "I'm sorry there isn't another bed." She said apologetically.

"It's okay, I don't mind." Shinichi said shrugging. He didn't mind sleeping on the floor. Shinichi set to work on making his bed and when it was finished, he climbed under the covers and closed his eyes. Hopefully he'll figure something out tomorrow. Half of him hoped that Kogorou would take him back, but Shinichi knew that was just wishful thinking. He turned over and he finally fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Kudo-kun, get up." Shinichi opened his eyes to see Haibara shaking him awake. "Ran-chan is here for you." Shinichi nodded and got up. He yawned.

"What time is it?" He asked rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"It's almost 10 in the morning." She said before leaving the room. Shinichi nodded to himself and headed towards the kitchen. He could hear Agasa and Ran talking in there.

"Ah, Conan-kun! I'm so glad you're okay!" She said immediately hugging him.

"Ran nee-chan, I'm fine." He said, hoping to alleviate her worry. She gasped when she saw his cheek. He supposed it was a bruise now. It didn't sting as much as it did yesterday.

"Did Otou-san do this to you?" She asked looking angry.

"Yes, but I'm sure he didn't mean to." Shinichi didn't want to get Kogorou into trouble with Ran. She sighed.

"I know he didn't mean to, but it was still wrong of him to do." She said frowning. Shinichi just nodded. She looked over at Agasa. "Can you please watch Conan-kun for a few days? I need to talk things out with my dad."

"Sure," Agasa said looking down at Shinichi with worry in his eyes, but Ran didn't see it as she turned to go out the door.

"Thank you, Professor Agasa. I'll bring some of Conan's clothes in an hour." Then she turned to Shinichi, "I'll see you in a few days, okay, Conan-kun?"

"Okay, Ran nee-chan." He said with a small smile. Shinichi watched as she left the house. "I know it's dangerous for me to stay here,"

"How about Hattori-kun?" Agasa Hakase suggested.

"W-What?" Shinichi said wide-eyed.

"Yes, he seems capable enough for the job of housing Kudo-kun." Haibara said thoughtfully. Shinichi didn't know how he felt about going to Hattori. "Come on, forget about your pride here for a minute and actually use your brain. The Black Organization doesn't know anything about Hattori other than the fact that you meet him occasionally." Shinichi sighed, knowing she was right. He still didn't like the idea of putting Hattori in any danger. Sure, him being at the Mouri's was putting Kogorou and Ran in danger but he couldn't avoid it; not now at least. The damage has already been done. He didn't want to put Hattori, his family, and Kazuha-chan in the same danger. That's just way too many people for his liking.

"Look, I know you don't want to put any more people in danger, Shinichi-kun, but it's the best we can do for now until Ran-kun gets things straightened out with Mouri-san." Agasa said looking at Shinichi sympathetically. Shinichi nodded.

"Okay." Shinichi said feeling a bit defeated. He was worried about how his Osakan friend was going to react. He just hoped to all that is mighty that Kazuha-san doesn't come. She would freak out more than Ran. After eating some breakfast, Shinichi waited for Ran to bring his clothes by. He needed those.

"I had Ran-kun tell your school that you'll be out of town for the next two days since it's almost the weekend. That should give Ran-kun plenty of time to talk to Mouri-san and it might help you get over this bump in the road." Agasa said after Haibara had left the kitchen and probably disappeared off into her lab.

"What do you mean by that?" Shinichi asked feeling a bit thrown off.

"I can see that you're upset about what Mouri-san did and said and there's no point in denying it either. I know you better than you think." Agasa said sternly. Shinichi just nodded. "I can tell he means a lot to you and I'm sure it's going to take you and Mouri-san talking this out before you can overcome this, but I believe it's best for you to get away from it for awhile and take a break. I'm sure Hattori-kun won't mind having you over. You should probably call him. I'll tell Ran-kun you're watching TV or something when she comes by." Shinichi nodded and went back to Haibara's room. Honestly, he just wanted to go back to bed and never get back up. He wasn't used to being treated like a victim, but he appreciated it nonetheless. He pulled out his phone and dialed Hattori's number. It didn't take long for the Osakan to answer.

"Kudo? What's the matter?" Hattori said right off the bat. Why does he always assume there's something wrong when Shinichi calls him?

"Nothing, um, you don't mind if I come and stay with you for the next few days, do you?" Shinichi said feeling nervous. He wasn't sure why he was feeling so nervous for. It was just Hattori.

"Eh? I don't mind, but why?" Hattori asked confused.

"Well, I'd rather tell you in person." Shinichi said not ready to talk to him about it yet. Shinichi could imagine the concern on his friend's face right about now.

"I see, well I'll come meet ya then and we can fly back together. I don't think they'll let a 7 year old in appearance ride on a plane by himself." Hattori said thoughtfully. Shinichi rolled his eyes but agreed with Hattori.

"Alright, see you in a few hours then." Shinichi said just wanting Hattori to hurry up and get here.

"Yep, see ya around Kudo!" Shinichi sighed as he Hattori hung up on him. Shinichi was still tired, but he figured he'd just fall asleep on the plane as soon as they settled into their seats. He didn't know why he did that, but from what his mother told him, he did that all the time when they travelled to different places when school was out for summer breaks. Shinichi yawned before heading to Agasa's library. Surely there was something to read in there.

"Shinichi, Hattori-kun is here." Agasa said walking into the room a few hours later. Shinichi looked up from the book he was reading to see Agasa and Hattori.

"Hey Kudo! Um, Kazuha came with me. She said she wanted to visit Nee-chan for a little bit. She's waiting in the kitchen." Hattori said smiling nervously. Shinichi frowned.

"It might not be a good time for her to visit Ran right now. She's talking some things out with her dad." Shinichi said wondering what would've happened had Kazuha gone to visit Ran at this time. Plus he really wasn't looking forward to seeing Kazuha right now. He should've known that Kazuha would come. No matter where Hattori went, Kazuha wasn't far behind him.

"Speaking of that Oji-san, did he did do that to you?" Hattori asked frowning. Shinichi sighed.

"Yeah, but I know he didn't mean to." Shinichi said already getting tired of this conversation.

"You know, Kazuha is going to freak when she sees it." Hattori said looking worried.

"Yes, I thought of that, so I brought this first aid kit in here earlier." Agasa said digging through his other desk. "Here it is. There's a bandage in here big enough to cover it."

"So what are you going to say when she asks?" Hattori asked curiously.

"That I was playing soccer with some kids from my school and got hit in the face by the ball." Shinichi replied automatically and without hesitation.

"Whoa, you said that so smoothly I almost believed it." Hattori said wide-eyed.

"Yeah, well I've had some practice." Shinichi said feeling bitter.

"Oh, right, sorry. Anyways, let's get this show on the road." Shinichi nodded and waited patiently as Agasa put the bandage on his cheek. He winced a little at the contact. Agasa looked really concerned about this and so did Hattori, but Shinichi couldn't understand why. It was normal to wince if you're still in pain right? Shinichi got off the chair when Agasa was done and put the book back in its respectful place before following Hattori out into the kitchen. As Hattori said she would, Kazuha-chan freaked out.

"I'm okay, Kazuha nee-chan. I was playing soccer at my school with some kids and they kicked the ball a little too high and it hit me in the face, but I'm okay." Shinichi said putting on his little kid act. Kazuha-chan finally calmed down and the trio were on their way to the airport with Agasa. It would seem weird if Agasa wasn't with them. Also Agasa seemed to have informed Ran about Shinichi going to stay with Hattori in Osaka. Shinichi wasn't sure about how she reacted but he saw Agasa holding the phone away from his ear a few times, so it must not have been a good reaction.

"Are you sure you don't want me to talk to Nee-chan about this, Agasa Hakase?" Hattori asked before they were about to board the plane.

"No, don't worry about it Hattori-kun. You three just get on the plane." Agasa Hakase said smiling. Poor Agasa, Shinichi thought, he's had to deal with a lot of angry people because of him and the Detective Boys. Soon the three were on the plane and Shinichi fell asleep to Hattori and Kazuha talking.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm sorry the P.O.V is all over the place. I wrote this awhile ago and just didn't post it. But I'm going through it to make sure everything makes sense and what not. I think this might be the only chapter where the P.O.V is all over the place. Basically, it starts out in Hattori's P.O.V then Conan's, and then back to Hattori's P.O.V. I labelled it as No One's P.O.V because it was all over the place. I hope you still enjoy it :3**

Chapter 2

No One's P.O.V

"So what are you and Conan-kun going to do when we get back?" Kazuha asked her childhood friend.

"I might take him out to go sight-seeing. The last time he was here, we got interrupted by a case." Hattori said thoughtfully.

"I swear you're cursed or something." Kazuha said rolling her eyes.

"I don't think it's me. When it's just you and me, there's almost never a case." Hattori said scowling. She sighed.

"Whatever, I just know when you and Conan-kun are together something always comes up." She said pouting a bit. Hattori almost blushed; almost.

"Yeah, well it's not like I can help it, right kid?" Hattori frowned when he didn't get a reply. He looked over and saw Kudo sleeping. "It looks like he fell asleep."

"He did look a little tired before we left." Kazuha said looking at him, feeling concerned.

"I think Nee-chan said something about him always falling asleep as soon as he gets on the plane." Hattori said as he recalled the memory. She had told him on one of the cases he worked with Kudo on a few months back.

"Really? That's so weird..." Kazuha said trailing off in thought. Hattori shrugged. Well at least he didn't have to worry about Kudo having some kind of panic attack on the plane because someone got too close or something. Seriously, the guy nearly jumped out of the chair when Agasa Hakase was putting that bandage on his cheek. He could see why Kudo respected Oji-san and he could tell that it was in more ways than one. He was just gonna have to have a serious talk with Kudo later on when Kazuha and his parents weren't around. Kudo needed some space that much Hattori was sure of. What happened to make Oji-san hit him? He knew Oji-san got annoyed when Kudo tried to point stuff out on a daily basis, but what made the guy go over the edge? Maybe he's stressed out too, but he still shouldn't have hit Kudo for that. Kudo woke up twenty minutes before the plane was supposed to land.

"How are you feeling Conan-kun?" Kazuha asked him. Conan smiled.

"I'm feeling fine, why do you ask?" He asked feeling a little uncertain.

"I don't know. You just seemed to be down before we left the airport." Kazuha said shrugging.

"Oh, well I'm okay." Conan said hoping he was convincing. She nodded but didn't look convinced.

"So, I was thinking when we get to Osaka, we can go sight-seeing again." Hattori said looking down at Kudo. He nodded.

"Alright, but don't complain to me if another case pops up." Kudo said scowling at the Osakan. Hattori rolled his eyes, but he was glad to see that Kudo was acting somewhat like himself. The three put on their seatbelts before the plane started its descent. Shinichi stretched as soon as they got off the plane, feeling more alert after the hour and forty minute nap. Man, why did little kids have to require so much sleep just to function? "So where are we going to first?"

"Let's go to the Osaka Tower!" Hattori said brightly.

"Again?" Shinichi asked feeling bored already.

"Why not?" Hattori asked scowling. Shinichi shrugged.

"Okay." Shinichi said not wanting to fight with the Osakan more. Hattori shook his head as the two headed over to the tower.

"Uh, Kudo," Hattori said awkwardly.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I don't know how to put this, but um, do you need to talk about what happened while Kazuha or anyone else isn't with us?" Hattori asked cautiously. Shinichi looked down in thought. Did he need to talk about it? Yes, but did he want to talk about it right now? He didn't know the answer to that one. It was an ideal opportunity. Hattori's mother or father couldn't just walk in on them and no one could really hear them unless they were right next to them and trying to listen.

"Alright," Shinichi said sighing. Hattori smiled encouragingly for Shinichi to continue. "Well, I guess since my father wasn't always around all the time because he'd been busy with his books and stuff, I always wanted him to be around more. But I understood his reasoning for not being there. So when my body got shrunk, becoming Conan, and started to live with the Mouri's it was like I had my dad with me, because Oji-chan is always home. And since I've always wanted my dad to be home more, it was like having my wish. And when Oji-chan hit me like that, it stung not just on my cheek but in my heart as sappy as that sounds." Hattori was shocked that Kudo shared something so personal with him but he could relate to Kudo.

"I've always wished my dad would be home more often too. Your mom and dad live in America now, right?" Hattori asked curiously. Shinichi nodded.

"Yeah, they have been for the last three years. It wasn't that hard to adjust to since neither of them was home really all that often when they did live at home." Shinichi said shrugging.

"That must've been hard on you though." Hattori said frowning. It was sad really.

"Yeah, but Ran helped me get through that." Shinichi said with a smile.

"That's good," By now the two of them had reached the top of the Osaka Tower.

"I still don't understand what set him on edge though after the case." Shinichi said thoughtfully.

"I can't figure it out either. It's probably just something you'd have to ask him about." Hattori said looking at his friend.

"Yeah," Shinichi said sitting down.

"Hey, are you really okay? I mean I know you just went through an ordeal with Oji-san but you're looking paler than normal." Hattori said looking worried. Shinichi honestly didn't understand it either. Hattori frowned when Shinichi didn't respond and put his hand on his forehead. "Geez, you're burning up!"

"That's weird, I felt fine this morning." Shinichi said confused.

"Right, come on, I'm taking you home." Hattori said sternly. Suddenly Shinichi found himself being held by Hattori.

"Oi, I can walk by myself." Shinichi said struggling to be let down.

"Nope, you look like you're about to collapse at any moment." Hattori said putting a stronger gripe on the squirming faux child. Shinichi sighed and gave up on struggling against his friend's arms. He didn't want to end up falling. Shinichi was starting to feel tired again. What the heck? Shinichi rested his head on his friend's shoulder, shocking Hattori. Soon, Hattori was faced with a sleeping Kudo. Man, this guy is just out of it, isn't he? Hattori of course didn't blame Kudo for falling asleep. He looked like he was going to fall asleep at any minute up on the tower. Hattori cringed at the thought of Nee-chan finding out. She would definitely tell Kazuha and then things would've been really messy. He should probably tell Agasa Hakase about this though. Soon Hattori found himself at the entrance of his house. His father, as usual, wasn't home, so he had no choice but to tell his mother. "I'm home!" Hattori said quietly walking into the kitchen where his mother was making lunch.

"You're just in time for lunch." She said turning around and smiling. "Oh and who's this?" She asked frowning.

"Edogawa Conan, he lives with the Mouri's." Hattori answered.

"And what is he doing here?" She asked confused.

"He and Oji-san had it out last night, so he's going to be staying here for the next couple of days. I thought I told you this." Hattori said feeling confused himself. His mother sighed.

"It's okay with me, but you're going to have to talk to your father about this later tonight." She said smiling.

"I know," Hattori said cringing a bit. He had forgotten. "Anyways, it seems Conan here has gotten a fever when we were out sight-seeing and he fell asleep on me. So, um," His mother jumped into action.

"Lay the poor dear on the couch and go get some blankets, a wash cloth, and a bowl of cold water. I'll go get the thermometer and medicine." She ordered. Hattori did as he was told and quickly got the items needed. When he returned to the living room, Kudo was propped up on a few pillows and Hattori's mother was taking his temperature.

"I got the blankets and stuff." Hattori told her.

"Good, cover him up with a few blankets and then bring me the wash cloth and bowl of water. We need to keep his temperature down. It's not too bad right now, but it can get dangerously high if we don't keep it down." She said looking worried. Hattori nodded and brought her the wash cloth and bowl of water. Maybe his friend was more stressed out about this than he let on. He was definitely going to have to get Kudo to talk more. He could tell Kudo wasn't really good at sharing his feelings on things and he was pretty sure about this because he too wasn't good at sharing his feelings either. Hopefully Kudo will get over his fever soon. Hattori heard stories from Nee-chan what it's like to deal with a sick Kudo and he wasn't looking forward to it.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Mentions of child abuse and torture in this chapter. So if you're sensitive to this, please don't read!**

Chapter 3

Shinichi's P.O.V

When Shinichi woke up, he found himself alone and in the dark. He noticed he was lying on a couch and was covered up. He also noticed there was a wash cloth on his forehead. He didn't feel dizzy like he usually did when he had a fever so he concluded that his temperature had gone down. He found a thermometer lying on a small table next to him. He checked his own temperature and found that he was back at his normal temperature. Now, all he had to do was figure out where he was at and where his glasses were.

Obviously he's in a house. Shinichi crawled off the couch and found his glasses on the same small table as the thermometer and put them on. He also saw a picture. Oh, so this is Hattori's house. Shinichi thought as the picture had Hattori, his mother, and his father in it. Shinichi couldn't fall back asleep, so he did some exploring around the house. He couldn't believe he had slept for so long. Was he really that stressed over what happened? And what did Hattori's father think about him staying for the next few days? Shinichi didn't want to impose on the family but it was necessary to keep Them from finding him.

He really wished there was someone else besides Agasa Hakase and Haibara to talk to about this whole thing. Sure they were his friends and would be there for him, but he still wasn't completely comfortable with Haibara and Agasa Hakase, well, it's not like he doesn't understand, but sometimes it is hard to talk to the man about stuff like that. That's why Shinichi so badly wanted to tell Hattori the complete situation. Hattori only knows about how Shinichi was turned into Conan and the drug, but he doesn't know about the feelings behind it. He doesn't know how tiring it is to always be watching your back and living in fear that They will figure it out that Shinichi is alive. He doesn't know how much it hurts to see the one he cares about crying everyday and not being able to do anything about it because he has to keep that person out of danger. It was hard and Shinichi never really was one to complain about stuff like this, but sometimes he wished he had someone to go to that would actually try to sympathize with him rather than just shoot him down like Haibara did. Sure, Agasa Hakase tries to be sympathetic but it was more like he was chiding Shinichi rather than being sympathetic about it.

He didn't want to unload everything on Hattori like this though, because for one he didn't want to seem like he was being weak and secondly, he didn't want to overwhelm Hattori either. Shinichi found himself looking into Hattori's room. He could tell by the baseball posters on the walls. Shinichi really wanted someone to talk to, though. But Hattori would be annoyed if Shinichi woke him up now. He didn't know what time it was but it must've been late since it was pitch black outside besides the street lamps. "Are you going to be standing there all night? It's kind of creepy." Shinichi jumped.

"I-I thought you were asleep." Shinichi said nervously.

"It's hard to sleep when someone's staring at you." Hattori said sitting up.

"Oh, sorry I didn't realize I was. I'll just-" Shinichi said turning to leave.

"Oh, no you don't," Hattori said getting up quickly and picking up Shinichi, taking him by surprise.

"What," Shinichi said shocked.

"Shh, do you want to wake the whole house? Anyways, you need someone to talk to right? Then you can talk to me." Hattori said shutting his door with his foot and putting Shinichi on the bed. He went through a drawer and pulled out a flashlight and turned it on. "I'd turn my light on, but I don't want to wake my parents." Shinichi just nodded, fiddling with the bottom of his shirt. Hattori sat on the bed and waited in silence. Shinichi didn't even know how or where to start, but eventually he started talking.

"I hate it. Being in this situation I mean. Whenever I'm with Ayumi-chan and the others, I always feel like I'm putting them in danger because I'm around them. My house and Agasa Hakase's house are under surveillance and for awhile Agasa Hakase's house had bugs planted all over the place. That was before I had that showdown with Vermouth." As Shinichi said her name, his eyes hardened. "I'm tired of feeling paranoid or being scared all the time and I hate having to listen to Ran cry almost every night. I always feel helpless when she really needs me and I can't be there as myself. I try to be there for her as Conan, but there's only so much I can do as Conan. It's not the same as if it were as me. Sometimes I wonder why all this crap happens to me but I can't help but blame myself for leaving Ran to chase after those guys that day at Tropical Land."

"Oi, I'm gonna have to stop you right here," Hattori said scowling at Shinichi.

"Eh?" Shinichi said confused.

"Yes, you could've ignored the fact that those guys were being suspicious, but it's not your fault you're in this mess, it's theirs, got it?" Hattori said sternly. Shinichi blinked in surprise but smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that. Sometimes, I get this feeling of being stuck and forget myself." Shinichi admitted.

"Well, you don't have to be alone in this you know. You can always come to me if you need to talk." Hattori said looking away. Shinichi smiled.

"Thanks, Hattori. Um," Now it was just getting awkward.

"Right, we should get back to bed." Hattori said chuckling.

"Oh, well since I've slept all day, I'm not really that tired." Shinichi said shrugging. Hattori sighed.

"Alright you can hang out in here until I fall asleep or something. I can't promise I'll be awake all night." Hattori warned him.

"Thanks, um, so did your mom ask about my cheek?" Shinichi asked curiously.

"Yeah, she was really concerned about it. I told her what you told Kazuha." Hattori said getting back under the covers. Shinichi moved so that Hattori had some space. "She believed me. Dad wasn't too happy about me telling him so late that you're staying here but he said it was okay."

"Shouldn't you have told them about this before you came to Beika?" Shinichi asked confused.

"Yes, but I forgot to tell my dad. Mom was there, so I told her as I left the house and then I ran into Kazuha." Hattori said turning over and making himself comfortable. Shinichi sighed quietly. "And," Hattori added as an afterthought, "You're not being a burden, so don't even think about it." Shinichi's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. It was like the guy read his mind. Well, Shinichi thought to himself, it wasn't really that hard to guess.

"Okay." He said quietly. After about five minutes or so, Hattori's breathing evened out and he was asleep. Shinichi didn't know what to do now. He was starting to feel a little tired, but he figured he would end up tossing and turning all night. But soon enough Shinichi was fighting his eyelids. So he laid out on Hattori's bed and fell asleep. His dreams were plagued with nightmares of the deaths of his closest friends and they were dying in the most horrendous ways. Ran was walking down the street, going clothes shopping with Sonoko. It was a nice afternoon and there was light breeze, as they began to enter another shop. Suddenly there was a sound of two gun shots and Sonoko and Ran were lying on the ground dead. Next, the Detective Boys were wandering obliviously into a broken down warehouse, thinking there was some kind of treasure in there. Gin and Vodka were lying in wait.

They grabbed the two nearest them, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi. They forced on a gun on Genta and made him walk into a room where chains and other kinds of torture devices were strewn across the place. Shinichi wished he could close his eyes as the two men strung his friends up in chains against the wall. They went for Ayumi first and cut off her toes, one by one in a slow process. She passed out before they finally got to the last one. Mitsuhiko and Genta were trying their hardest not to get sick. Next, they went after Genta and started to slowly cut open his stomach with a surgeon's knife and pulling out Genta's intestines. And finally they went to Mitsuhiko and cut off his tongue and finally after doing all those sickening things, they shot them all in the head.

Next up were Hattori, Kazuha, Officer Takagi, and Officer Sato. They were at a crime scene on top of a twenty floor building with Inspector Megure and Oji-chan. Hattori and Kazuha were pushed off the building and Takagi and Sato were stuck in an elevator and the cord snapped and they fell with the elevator and were flattened into pancakes. Inspector Megure and Oji-chan were kidnapped from their homes and were found beaten to death with a pipe. Agasa Hakase and Haibara were both strangled to death after they were brutally tortured for information. And his parents, his parents were given the drug he was given; only they weren't turned into children. They were actually poisoned and died. Shinichi couldn't take it anymore and the next thing he knew, he was being roughly shaken awake and someone was calling his name, and who was that screaming? Oh that was him. He noticed as he finally closed his mouth. "Kudo, wake up!" He felt a light smack to the cheek opposite to the one Oji-chan had slapped.

"H-Hattori?" Shinichi asked confused.

"Are you finally awake?" Hattori sounded worried and scared.

"Y-yeah." Suddenly Shinichi hugged Hattori and started crying. Now, Hattori was shocked. He'd never seen Kudo cry once. That must've been some nightmare to have him crying. He thought as he awkwardly hugged his friend. It was a good thing he removed the guy's glasses or they would've been broken. Hattori thought as images of Kudo thrashing around on the bed earlier. It scared Hattori to see his friend like this. Kudo yelling his name and everyone else, especially his parents, had woken Hattori up. He had to assume the way Kudo was reacting, the nightmare had to be about deaths and out of all the names he'd heard, he had assumed it was people that were closest to him.

He couldn't quite understand what it was like to be in Kudo's shoes but he could understand that it was not easy and it was definitely stressful and scary. He could imagine having the same fears for everyone he's closest to. Hattori gave an involuntary shudder. Kudo had calmed down after a few minutes and now he was wiping his face with his shirt. He's probably feeling embarrassed. Well, it was easy to understand. Hattori would've felt the same way. "Sorry, did I wake your parents?" Shinichi asked genuinely worried. Hattori couldn't believe his ears. After all that, Kudo was worried about waking his parents?

"No, my mom is still asleep, but you're seriously worried about that?" Hattori asked him in disbelief. Shinichi shrugged. His eyes felt puffy, so they were probably red too. "So I'm gonna go out on a limb here, but your nightmare, was it about everyone's deaths?" Shinichi sighed and nodded. He felt silly for having a nightmare like that right after talking about everything with Hattori. "I don't blame you though for having nightmares like that. I'd have them too if I were in your situation." Hattori said sympathetically. Shinichi nodded. "Well, it's useless trying to get back to sleep, since it's five in the morning. Dad has already left for work and Mom should be up in a few hours, so what do you want to do?"

"Actually, I was wondering if I could use your bath." Shinichi said feeling the need to be alone with his thoughts for a little bit. Plus he felt like a warm bath would help calm him down. Hattori shrugged.

"Sure, your bag is in the living room and the bathroom is across the hall." Hattori told him. Shinichi nodded and crawled off the bed, still feeling a bit shaky about the whole nightmare.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hattori felt bad for Kudo having to deal with all of this. He isn't alone because of that little blond girl and the professor but it still must be pretty hard putting on a front like that, so no one can find out about everything. Hattori finally got up and got dressed. He took his shower last night before he went to bed. He decided to make some coffee. He figured it would help his friend out at least a little bit. From what Nee-chan was saying, Kudo literally lived off coffee and needed it to even function properly in the morning. Of course, since Kudo is pretty much a kid right now, Hattori decided that one cup of coffee should be enough. He also decided he'd make breakfast. His cooking skills weren't the greatest but he could make something that was at least half way decent. He assumed Kudo wouldn't have minded as long as there was something to eat.

Shinichi was sitting in the bath thinking about the nightmare he just had. He couldn't get all those images out of his head; especially the ones with his parents, Ran, and Oji-chan. He shook his head. That wasn't going to happen, he told himself. He would make sure of it. He was going to stop Them one day and get his body back to normal, too. He was going to tell Ran how he felt towards her and hopefully she won't be so mad that she doesn't want anything to do with him. He knew it was going to ruin the trust that they have now but he was willing to do anything to get that back and he didn't care how long it took to get it back. He would work for it. Shinichi sighed as the bath water started to get cold. He quickly washed up and got out. He checked to make sure his eyes weren't red and puffy anymore before leaving the bathroom when he was done. He could smell coffee and food being made and he was just now realizing how hungry he was.

"I see you've finally decided to join me." Hattori said as he set the food on the table. "I figured a cup of coffee wouldn't hurt."

"Thanks." Shinichi said taking a seat.

"Anytime. Anyways, I was thinking you should probably call Nee-chan about your fever that you had yesterday. I figured it'd be better to tell her now rather than later." Hattori said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, you have a point. I'll call her after breakfast." Shinichi said with a grimace.

"Kazuha should be up by then. She wanted to take you to the zoo." Hattori informed him. Shinichi scowled. "Hey don't look at me like that. It was her idea, not mine." He sighed.

"Alright, but I won't enjoy it." Shinichi said as he immaturely crossed his arms.

"I didn't think you would. I can't imagine how many times you've gone between Nee-chan and those kids." Hattori said shaking his head.

"A lot," Shinichi said sighing. Shinichi didn't mind going every once in a while but they went almost once a week. Now the camping, Shinichi didn't mind doing that almost every weekend. He enjoyed it really. He thought maybe once he got his body back and They were gone, he'd try to coax Ran into going camping.

"Since it's almost the weekend, I was thinking of taking Kazuha camping and inviting Nee-chan, what do you think?" Hattori said, thoughtfully. It was almost like they were on the same wave length or something.

"I don't mind." Shinichi said shrugging.

"Great! I was really hoping you'd say yes because Nee-chan told me how Agasa Hakase takes you and the other kids camping all the time." Hattori said cheerfully.

"I was actually thinking of doing that once I got my body back to normal." Shinichi said shrugging as he finished off his coffee. He wanted more but if he did that, he knew he would have a serious caffeine crash later and end up falling asleep. Curse his little kid body...

"Ooh, can Kazuha and I come?" Hattori asked eagerly. Shinichi shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm sure Sonoko is going to want to go because I'm going to try to get Ran to come." Shinichi said with a grimace.

"Right, she might be angry with you after all this." Hattori said with a grimace of his own.

"Exactly, so that's the plan anyways." Shinichi said shrugging.

"I'm gonna go call Kazuha, you do what you have to do, okay?" Hattori said looking at his friend. Shinichi nodded, as Hattori went into the living room, and pulled out his phone. It rang a few times before Ran picked up.

"C-Conan-kun? Is something wrong?" Ran said sounding sleepy.

"Ah, no, I just thought it would be better to tell you now, than later, but I had a fever yesterday, but thanks to Heiji nii-chan's mom, I got past it." Shinichi informed her.

"Oh I'm glad you're okay. Is there anything else you wanted?" She asked him curiously.

"No... Well, actually how is Oji-chan?" Shinichi asked curiously.

"He's feeling pretty miserable actually but he's not drinking, which is weird." Shinichi could hear the disbelief in her voice. Shinichi was a bit shocked to hear this.

"He's not?" Shinichi asked wide-eyed.

"No. He must feel pretty terrible for what he did. I can't stay too mad at him. So you can come back home anytime you want really." Shinichi could hear the frown in her voice.

"Oh well this weekend I'm going camping with Heiji nii-chan and Kazuha nee-chan, would you like to come with us?" Shinichi asked curiously.

"Sure, Sonoko will want to come though, is that okay?" Ran asked eagerly. Shinichi grimaced. Why did she have to invite Sonoko to go?

"It should be, let me go ask Heiji nii-chan." Shinichi covered up the receiver and went into the living room. "Ran wants to know if Sonoko can come."

"Sure," Hattori said shrugging.

"He said it was okay." Shinichi said into the phone, returning to the kitchen.

"Great, I'll call her later. Did you know it's almost six in the morning by the way?" Ran asked him.

"Oh yeah, sorry. I couldn't sleep last night." Shinichi said laughing nervously.

"Did you have a bad dream?" She asked and it kind of felt like she was interrogating him a bit.

"Sort of,"

"Was it about dad?" She asked worriedly.

"Not really, it was just something silly. Don't worry about it, Ran nee-chan. And tell Oji-chan I'm not upset with him about what he did." Shinichi said not wanting her to worry too much.

"I will, but I doubt it will help any." She said sounding depressed.

"Why not?" Shinichi asked confused.

"Because I tried to tell him this yesterday but he wouldn't believe me." She said sighing.

"Well, when I get back home, I'll tell him myself then." Shinichi said frowning. He didn't want Oji-chan to feel any worse than he already did.

"Good, maybe he'll stop sulking finally." Shinichi chuckled. "Um, he did admit that he was stressed out, but he wouldn't tell me what he was stressed out about."

"Hm, maybe he'll tell us when we get back." Shinichi said hoping he could understand Oji-chan a little better.

"Maybe, I'll talk to you tomorrow then, okay?"

"Okay!" Shinichi hung up the phone feeling better about the whole situation.

"So how's Oji-san doing?" Hattori asked walking into the kitchen.

"Miserable but he isn't drinking." Shinichi said shaking his head.

"That's good, right?" Hattori asked sounding optimistic.

"No, it's weird. He always drinks when he's upset about something."

"He drinks regardless of feeling upset." Hattori pointed out.

"Exactly, so for him to not drink, then he must be feeling worse than he's letting on." Shinichi said thoughtfully.

"Well, now I believe that he didn't mean it." Hattori said smiling. Shinichi rolled his eyes.

"So are we picking up Kazuha-chan?" Shinichi asked curiously.

"Yup, now let's go!" Shinichi rolled his eyes again and followed his friend out the front door. "Oh, I better leave mom a note or she'll flip."

"That might be good." He said smirking.

"Oh shut up." Hattori grumbled.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Shinichi and Hattori both reached the Toyama residence without any cases popping up out of nowhere. Shinichi took this as a sign of good luck. He was actually wearing the many charms Kazuha and Hattori had given him. Now, Shinichi didn't believe in luck but it seemed to keep the cases from popping up around him all the time, so he wasn't going to take the charms for granted. Hattori walked right on in like he owned the place. Well, Shinichi thought, he did the same thing with the Mouri residence. He walked in there and out of there like he owned the place a lot before his body got shrunken. Of course Ran never did that at the Kudo Mansion but then again, she was the kind of person who knocked before entering... well usually, but that's a story for another time.

"Is that you Heiji?" Kagura called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, and I've got Ku-Conan-kun with me too." Shinichi scowled at Hattori.

"Sorry," Hattori muttered before the two entered the kitchen. Kazuha was cleaning up some dishes.

"Good, I'll be just a second. I'm finishing up some dishes." She said smiling.

"Did your dad finally stay long enough for breakfast?" Hattori asked curiously. Kazuha beamed at him.

"He did," She sounded really happy about it too.

"I'm happy for you." Hattori said smiling.

"So, Conan-kun, you don't mind that we're going to the zoo today do you?" Kazuha asked after finishing up the dishes.

"Hm-mm, I don't mind. I haven't been to the zoo in Osaka before." Shinichi said smiling. It was true, but he was pretty sure all of the zoos were pretty much the same. Hattori smirked at him when Kazuha wasn't looking and Shinichi just rolled his eyes.

"Maybe afterwards we could grab some lunch." Hattori added.

"That sounds like a good plan. A new café opened up just around the corner and I've been meaning to try it out." Kazuha said excitedly.

"Alright, but if it's some girly café then I'm not going in." Hattori said making a face. Kazuha scowled at him.

"It's not girly and anyways, how many of those have you seen around town?" She asked putting her hands on her hips. Shinichi smirked as Hattori frowned.

"None." Hattori finally answered.

"Exactly, so shut up!" Kazuha said rolling her eyes. Hattori scowled at her. Shinichi honestly didn't mind listening to their quarrels because they reminded him a lot of the quarrels that he and Ran have had. The only exception is when they're on a case though. He really didn't want to listen to it then. Hattori grumbled and crossed his arms.

"So what are we going to do afterwards?" Shinichi asked curiously.

"Who knows? Maybe a case will pop up somewhere." Hattori said shrugging.

"It better not happen." Kazuha said scowling.

"It's not like it can be helped." Hattori said shrugging. Shinichi sighed. Then again, sometimes he wished Hattori would just shut up and stop making Kazuha so angry all the time. It was a good thing he brought some books with him to read. Kazuha had to go get changed before they could leave. While she was changing, Shinichi got a call on his phone.

"Moshi,"

"Shin-chan!"

"Oka-san? What did Otou-san do now?" Shinichi said scowling. He swore those two fought over the stupidest things.

"Oh, no, we're not fighting! I was just calling to see how you were doing. Agasa Hakase called me and told me what happened with Mouri-san." His mother said sounding really worried. Shinichi nearly groaned.

"I'm fine." Shinichi said sighing.

"Okay, but if you need anything, don't be afraid to talk to your Oka-san!" His mother said encouraging.

"Hai, hai." Shinichi said with a dead-panned look.

"Well, then I'll talk to later, bye~!" She said energetically.

"Bye..." Shinichi shook his head as he hung up the phone.

"Everything okay?" Hattori asked looking concerned.

"Yeah, just my Oka-san being herself." Shinichi said shrugging. Hattori nodded as Kazuha came back into the kitchen.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Kazuha said beaming. Shinichi was sure she was the one who was the most excited about going to the zoo.

"You should've been ready before we got here aho!" Hattori said, glaring at her. She scowled at Hattori.

"You're the one who's an aho, aho!" She retaliated.

"Whatever, let's just go." Hattori grumbled. Shinichi wasn't sure it was such a good idea to be going with them to the zoo anymore. They'd just be bickering the whole time. Is this how it feels like to be Sonoko when she hung out with him and Ran before he was shrunken? Because he knew he and Ran bickered a lot. This kind of sucked. The trio made it to the zoo before Hattori made Kazuha too angry to go. Shinichi thought it was a miracle. So this must be what Sonoko feels like, because she's made that comment almost every time she's travelled with him and Ran.

"Let's go look at the elephants first!" Kazuha said once they got through the entrance. Shinichi followed the two teenagers already bored with the zoo. "Oh, Conan-kun, you should hold my hand so you don't get lost!" Before Shinichi could say anything though, she had grabbed his hand and Hattori was scowling. What? There wasn't much he could do anyways. If he said anything, then a big scene would happen and Shinichi wasn't in the mood for being the center of attention. He found that he didn't like being the center of attention as much as he used to. Maybe it was because an organization of killers were after him or maybe it was because he was finding out more about himself through this situation, but he always felt like he was exposed whenever he stood out too much. Maybe he was just being paranoid again. Suddenly Kazuha wasn't holding his hand anymore as she squealed, startling Shinichi out of his thoughts. "Ne, Heiji, Conan-kun, aren't the baby elephants like soooo cute!?" Hattori rolled his eyes.

"Y-Yeah!" Shinichi said keeping up his façade.

"You okay, Kudo?" Hattori asked quietly.

"Yeah, just thinking." Shinichi answered.

"About?"

"The usual." Shinichi said, shrugging. Hattori scowled.

"Thanks for the elaboration." Hattori said sarcastically.

"No problem." Shinichi said smirking.

"Minami, you're late!" A man a few feet away said scowling at another man.

"Sorry, Nii-san, I was having some trouble with the car." The other man said sheepishly.

"Oh, I see. I'll look at it later on today." The first man said with a weird glint in his eyes that the other one didn't catch. Shinichi thought it was odd.

"Thanks," The other man, named Minami said now smiling. Shinichi was getting a bad feeling about this, so he said,

"Can we go look at the giraffes next?" From what he remembered, they were on the other side of the zoo.

"Sure!" Kazuha said excitedly. "Let's go right now!" She took Shinichi's hand again and soon they were making their way to the giraffes. Shinichi looked back at the two men as they got farther away from the two.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Oi, Kudo, what was that all about?" Hattori questioned when Kazuha was too busy feeding the giraffes.

"I was getting a bad vibe from those two guys." Shinichi admitted. Normally he'd keep that too himself until he had evidence, but he knew that wouldn't fly with his Osakan counterpart.

"Oh, so there's possibly going to be a case before lunch?" Hattori asked. Shinichi nodded. Hattori sighed. "Kazuha isn't going to be happy about this."

"No, but it's not like there's anything we can do. We don't know who's going to kill who or what the weapon will be." Shinichi said sighing too. Hattori nodded.

"I know, I know." Hattori said frowning.

"Ne, let's go look at the gift shop real quick!" Kazuha said turning towards the two.

"Eh? Why?" Shinichi asked curiously.

"Because Ran-chan seems to be in a bad mood, so I thought maybe I could get her something!" She said smiling. Shinichi didn't think that was a bad idea. Maybe he could get Oji-chan something too? Nah, Oji-chan wouldn't want something like that...

"Wow, look at all the figurines they have in here!" Kazuha said looking at a shelf of animal figurines. Shinichi spotted a pencil holder with Okino Youko holding a Koala. Hm... Oji-chan doesn't have this one yet.

"Ne, Kazuha nee-chan, can I get this for Oji-chan?" Shinichi asked looking at her. She giggled as he held up the pencil holder.

"He really loves his Okino Youko-san, doesn't he? Yeah, you can get that for him!" She said. Hattori just raised an eyebrow at him. Shinichi just shrugged as Kazuha took the pencil holder and an elephant figurine to the front counter to pay for them. "So is Ran-chan coming with us to go camping tomorrow?" Kazuha asked as they exited the gift shop.

"Yeah, she's bringing Sonoko nee-chan too." Shinichi answered grimacing a bit. He really didn't want to have to put up with Sonoko for two days. Kazuha beamed.

"Yay, then it'll be more fun!" She said excitedly. Shinichi could practically hear Hattori groaning. Shinichi was right with him.

"Nii-san, isn't Kimi-kun waiting for us in the reptile house?" Shinichi heard a familiar voice that he wasn't exactly happy about hearing. Shinichi looked up to see that Minami guy from before and that other uncle.

"Yes, she's waiting with her daughter. I told her we'd meet with her at 10." The first guy said.

"But, Nii-san, it's almost 10 now!" Minami said wide-eyed.

"Oh! We better get going then!" The two men rushed off to what Shinichi perceived as the direction of the reptile house.

"We should go see the reptile house next. I hear they have a really big anaconda in there!" Kazuha said after she got done making her purchase. Shinichi and Hattori shared a look as they all went to the reptile house.

"There can't be any good coming from this." Hattori said frowning.

"I know," Shinichi said sighing as Kazuha once again grabbed a hold of his hand, resulting in Hattori scowling at him again. Shinichi ignored it, feeling worried about what was going to happen. When the trio made it into the reptile house, they found the two brothers conversing with Kimi-san and her little girl. So far, so good, Shinichi thought as he pretended to be interested in the anaconda that Kazuha had immediately located.

"It's nice to see you again, Ichiban-san." Kimi-san said as her daughter came over to the anaconda display. She stopped next to Shinichi, looking at the giant snake with wide-eyes.

"Mommy, mommy! Look at how big this snake is!" The little girl said excitedly.

"I see it, dear." Kimi-san said smiling at her.

"Hana-kun, did you see the lizards over here?" The guy, Minami, asked her, pointing at a display case of lizards. The little girl gasped and ran to the display.

"So, did you bring the money?" Ichiban-san asked Kimi-san smirking at her. She glowered at him.

"Yes, but if I find out you hurt my husband," Kimi-san threatened.

"You'll what?" Ichiban-sand said with confidence. She glared at him.

"I don't like the sound of this." Shinichi muttered to Hattori quietly.

"Yeah, me either." Hattori said frowning.

"That's what I thought," The man said chuckling as the lady gave him a manila envelope. It was bulging slightly, so it must've been full of money.

"Hey, guys, I'm starving." Kazuha said pulling the two high school detectives out of their daze.

"Do you want to go eat now? We've only seen three exhibits." Hattori said scowling at her. "And besides, didn't you eat before we got here?" She scowled at him.

"Yes, but I didn't get to eat much because you called me at five this morning!" She said crossing her arms. And here they go again... Shinichi thought sighing a little.

"Yeah, well... um..." Hattori started to get a little awkward here and Shinichi pleaded with his eyes that Hattori didn't tell Kazuha about his episode this morning.

"What?" Kazuha asked putting her hands on her hips.

"N-Nothing, anyways, how about we go see a few more exhibits before we go to that café you want to go to?" Hattori suggested. She narrowed her eyes at Hattori before sighing.

"Okay, where do you want to go next Conan-kun?" She asked looking down at Shinichi.

"How about... the tigers?" Shinichi said not really caring where they went next.

"Okay!" Kazuha said smiling at him.

"Mommy, mommy, I want to see the tigers too!" The trio jumped a little not realizing the little girl was standing next to them and listening to their conversation.

"Hana, don't listen to other peoples' conversations, it's rude!" Kimi-san scolded.

"I'm sorry, Mommy!" Hana-chan said pouting. She sighed but smiled.

"I'm sorry about my daughter." Kimi-san said to Kazuha and Hattori.

"Ah, it's no problem. You're welcome to join us, if you'd like." Kazuha said smiling at the lady kindly.

"Well if you don't mind, then I'm sure Hana would love to go with you to go see the tigers." Kimi-san said looking down at Hana-chan.

"You're not coming with us Nee-chan?" Shinichi asked her, worriedly.

"Ah, no, there are some things I need to take care of. You don't mind looking after her for thirty minutes or so, do you?" Kimi-san pleaded with Kazuha.

"A-Ah, we don't mind." Kazuha answered her after sharing a look with Hattori. Shinichi wasn't getting a good feeling about this.

"Thank you so much!" The lady looked so relieved. "Hana, these nice people said they'll go with you to see the tigers."

"Yay! My name is Hana!" Hana-chan introduced herself.

"I'm Kazuha and this is Heiji and Conan-kun, it's nice to meet you, Hana-chan." Kazuha said smiling down at the little girl. She was about Shinichi's current age.

"It's nice to meet you too, Kazuha nee-chan!" Hana-chan said beaming at her.

"Alright, then follow us to the tigers!" Hattori said grinning at the little girl. Shinichi just followed behind quietly as the group moved out of the reptile house. He still couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Oi, Kudo, what are we going to do?" Hattori asked as Kazuha stood near the fence in front of the tiger exhibit with Hana-chan.

"I don't know. Should one of us go and tail Hana-chan's mother and those men and call the other if something does happen or do we wait out the thirty minutes for Hana-chan's mother to come back?" Shinichi suggested. He was torn. He didn't want to do it in case something awful happened and they couldn't reach one another, but at the same, what if the other was able to prevent whatever happens from happening?

"How about we wait out the thirty minutes and if she doesn't come, then we can go track her and those guys down." Hattori said after much thinking. Shinichi wasn't happy with waiting but there wasn't much else he could do about it. If he tried to sneak off now, Kazuha would probably freak out and Hattori would do a bad job of covering it up and yell at Shinichi for it later. Shinichi sighed and watched Hana-chan and Kazuha fawned over the baby tigers. About ten minutes later, Shinichi was starting to grow restless. So as soon as Kazuha distracted Hattori, Shinichi took off back towards the reptile house. The two men and Kimi-san weren't there. Where are they? Shinichi looked around and spotted Kimi-san's head going towards the gift shop. He raced after her. He didn't know where those two guys went, but he was sure that something bad was about to happen.

"Nee-chan!" He called after her as she went past the gift shop and towards the entrance. "Nee-chan!" She appeared not to have heard him and went outside the entrance. He got stuck behind some people and the next thing he knew, there was an explosion. He broke through the people and stared at a vehicle that was in flames. Please let that Nee-chan be okay!

"Nii-san!" Shinichi turned to see that Minami guy knelt down on the ground. Kimi-san was about a yard away staring at the car in shock. Shinichi had a feeling that car was for either her or her husband she mentioned.

"Kudo, what was that explosion just now!?" Hattori yelled running up to him. Kazuha and Hana-chan weren't far behind.

"That uncle's car just exploded and I'm assuming his brother was in the car." Shinichi explained, still feeling a bit shocked.

"You mean the one who was demanding the money?" Hattori asked frowning.

"Yeah," Shinichi said shaking his head.

"Mommy!" Hana-chan cried before going to her mother.

"Ah, Hana-chan wait!" Kazuha cried out.

"Kazuha, call the police and an ambulance!" Hattori told her as some employees finally came out with some fire extinguishers and started to put the fire out. It didn't take long for Hattori's dad to show up.

"I see you've found yourself in a troublesome situation again, Hei-chan." His father said sighing.

"It's not me, it's Conan-kun." Hattori said narrowing his eyes at Shinichi. Shinichi rolled his eyes. That was preposterous.

"I'm glad to see that you're feeling better, Edogawa-kun." He said looking down at Shinichi.

"Thank you." Shinichi said smiling up at him.

"So do you mind telling me from the top what happened here?" Hattori Senior said looking at the two of them.

"Well, we came to the zoo because Kazuha wanted to bring Conan-kun here." Hattori started.

"Yeah and we went to the elephant exhibit and I heard that uncle over there and his brother talking. He said his car was acting up, so that's why he was late. That uncle's brother had a weird look in his eyes." Shinichi continued.

"Did he now?" Hattori Senior said thoughtfully.

"Then Conan-kun asked to go look at the giraffes and after that we went to the gift shop." Kazuha said smiling.

"And then we heard that uncle and his brother talking about going to meet that Nee-chan over there in the reptile house while Kazuha was paying for the stuff she got. And then she wanted to go to the reptile house." Hattori said frowning.

"When we got there, that uncle, his brother, that Nee-chan, and her daughter Hana-chan were just visiting and then that uncle distracted Hana-chan so his brother could demand that Nee-chan for money." Shinichi continued.

"And then, that Nee-chan said that uncle's brother better not hurt her husband and then Hana-chan said she wanted to go see the tigers after Kazuha asked Conan-kun what he wanted to see next." Hattori said looking over at Kimi-san.

"And Hana-chan is the daughter right?" Hattori Senior asked looking at his son.

"Yes," Hattori answered.

"I told them they could come with us if they wanted to but the Nee-chan said she had some business she needed to attend to and asked us to watch Hana-chan for thirty minutes." Kazuha said looking worried again.

"And did you?" Hattori Senior questioned.

"Yes, we took Hana-chan to the tiger exhibit, but we were only there for twenty minutes before Conan-kun took off, looking for that Nee-chan I'm assuming." Hattori said looking down at Shinichi.

"I went back to the reptile house to see if that uncle, his brother, and that nee-chan were still there, but they weren't. Then I spotted that nee-chan walking towards the gift shop, so I followed her and tried to get her attention, but she kept walking until she got outside. I got caught up behind a crowd of people and then the next thing I hear is an explosion. When I finally got outside, that car was on fire and that uncle was on the ground calling out for his brother and that nee-chan was over there. Then Heiji nii-chan and Kazuha nee-chan showed up with Hana-chan and Hana-chan ran over to that nee-chan." Shinichi said finishing it up.

"I see, well that uncle and I have a lot of discussing to do." Hattori Senior said narrowing his eyes at the man still kneeling on the ground. "You kids should get going."

"But,"

"No buts Hei-chan. If I have questions, I'll call you." Hattori Senior said sternly. Hattori sighed.

"Alright, let's get out of here." Hattori said looking at Kazuha and Shinichi. Shinichi didn't want to go, but everything looked pretty straight forward.

"Do you still want to go see a few more exhibits before we go?" Kazuha asked, clutching their bag of souvenirs.

"Do you still want to Kazuha?" Hattori asked her.

"Yeah, I kind of wanted to go see the penguin exhibit. I heard they'll let us feed them!" Kazuha said excitedly.

"Okay," Hattori said shrugging.

"Hey, will you take that little girl with you?" Hattori Senior asked.

"Sure," Kazuha said smiling. Hattori nudged Shinichi on the shoulder smirking at him. Shinichi sighed and plastered a smile on his face before going over to Hana-chan and her mother. An officer was standing there asking her questions.

"Hey, Hana-chan, do you want to come with us to see the penguins? Kazuha nee-chan said we get to feed them!" Shinichi offered. Hana-chan hesitated.

"Go ahead, Sweetheart. Mommy will be here when you get back." Kimi-sand said smiling down at her daughter. Hana-chan smiled.

"Okay! Let's go, Conan-kun!" The next then Shinichi knew, the little girl was dragging him back over to Kazuha and Hattori. Really, he thought, he should be used to this by now. Ayumi-chan and the others did that to him all the time. He ignored Hattori's snickering as the two followed Kazuha and Hana-chan to the penguin exhibit.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

When they got to the penguin exhibit, Shinichi wasn't surprised to find Hana-chan and Kazuha fawning over the penguins. "Hello, everyone, I hope your stay here at the Osaka Zoo* has been well!" An employee greeted them as he walked into the room.

"Yes, we've been enjoying the animals." Kazuha informed him smiling.

"That's good! Have you come to feed the penguins?" The penguin handler asked.

"Yes!" Hana-chan answered him eagerly. He chuckled.

"Well, come right this way then!" The group followed him to the back and they entered an area where the penguins were swimming and there were buckets with little fish in them. "Okay, I'll show you what to do. You take one of these fish and just throw it to the penguins, just like this." He threw one of the fish and a penguin grabbed the fish with its mouth.

"Ooh! Can I try?" Hana-chan asked eagerly.

"Why of course you can little miss! You three can join in if you'd like." Kazuha squealed and eagerly grabbed a fish. Hattori and Shinichi shared a look before shrugging to each other and going to a bucket of fish and started feeding the penguins too. Shinichi wondered how the investigation was going. They spent an hour with the penguins and then the group returned back to the entrance after washing their hands.

"It looks like Dad has everything wrapped up." Hattori said as the uncle was being handcuffed.

"But why is that nee-chan being handcuffed too?" Shinichi asked confused.

"She was the one who planted the bomb. She did it to get back at those two for taking her husband and demanding money." Hattori Senior explained as he walked up to the group. "The husband is coming right now to get the little girl."

"Mommy," Hana-chan said starting to sniffle.

"Don't worry, Hana-chan! She'll be okay!" Kazuha said hugging the little girl. It wasn't long before the husband arrived and picked up the little girl. He followed the police to the Osaka police station.

"How about some lunch now?" Hattori asked after everyone cleared out.

"Okay." Kazuha said looking a bit worried.

"Hana-chan will be fine and so will her dad and mom." Shinichi said as they started walking. Kazuha smiled.

"You're right." The group didn't run into anymore cases for the rest of the afternoon. Shinichi was actually kind of relieved for that. He was pretty tired after a sleepless night and then having a long day.

Before dinner, Shinichi got a call from Ran. "Conan-kun, Sonoko and I are coming to stay with Kazuha-chan for the night and then the plan is to meet up at Heiji-kun's house at 9. I think Hattori's mom is going to drive us to the campsite and then she's going to pick us up on Monday morning?"

"Yes, that's right." He confirmed.

"How was your day?" She asked curiously.

"Long," Then he told her about the bomb and everything that happened today.

"Oh wow! You've been busy today, haven't you?" Shinichi could hear the amusement in her voice.

"Yeah. How's Occhan?" Shinichi asked a bit worriedly.

"The same as earlier, he's still sulking. Do you want to talk to him?" Ran asked him.

"Um, I think it would be better if I waited until I got home to tell him." Shinichi said feeling uncertain.

"Yeah, I guess that would be better. We're about to board the plane, so I'll see you tomorrow morning." Ran informed him.

"Okay, bye Ran nee-chan!" Shinichi said before hanging up his phone. Shinichi sighed.

"Everything okay at home?" Hattori's mom asked smiling.

"Yes," Shinichi said beaming at her. "Ran nee-chan was just telling me that she and Sonoko nee-chan are coming to stay the night at Kazuha nee-chan's house so we can all go camping tomorrow!"

"That's great, Conan-kun! Dinner's almost ready, why don't you go and wash up?" Hattori's mom suggested.

"Okay!" Shinichi then went off to the bathroom and found Hattori in there washing his hands, but he was grumbling. "What's up with you?"

"That woman drives me crazy sometimes." Hattori complained.

"I don't know. She's nowhere near like my mom from what I've seen, so I wouldn't complain." Shinichi said stepping on the stool and washing his hands too.

"Just you wait, Kudo. Just you wait." Shinichi shrugged and soon the two were back in the kitchen and eating dinner.

"So I hear from your father that you've had a busy day today, Hei-chan." Hattori's mom said looking at Hattori.

"Yeah, but I wasn't expecting the nee-chan to be the one planting that bomb." Hattori said shaking his head.

"Well, I thought it was kind of obvious after putting some thought into it." Shinichi said after swallowing the food in his mouth. "This is delicious by the way, Shizuka-Oba-san!"

"Oh, thank you dear!" She said beaming at him.

"Suck up..." Hattori muttered. Shinichi shrugged. He wasn't lying. The food was really good. His mother's cooking was good too, but she hated cooking. So it was very rare that Shinichi ever got a home cooked meal from his mom when she and his dad lived at home.

"So what are your plans for tomorrow when you go camping?" Hattori's mom asked.

"Well, I thought maybe we could do some fishing and hike to the top of this hill that I found there one time, when Kazuha and I went camping for our class trip in middle school**" Hattori said thoughtfully.

"That sounds like fun, doesn't Conan-kun?" Hattori's mom asked him.

"Mm!" Shinichi said beaming at her. "Agasa Hakase takes me and my friends camping and fishing all the time!"

"Then you must be an expert at it by now then, right?" She asked smiling at him.

"Yep. Only Genta-kun keeps thinking he's going to catch an eel." Shinichi deadpanned. He figured adding in a random thing like that would help keep up with the illusion of him being a child.

"He must really like his eel then." She said chuckling.

"Yeah, that's all he ever talks about most of the time." Shinichi wasn't lying either. That's literally all Ginta ever talked about.

"Are you sure Nee-chan's friend is up for camping?" Hattori asked him.

"Who knows? She's not much of a camper unless college boys are a part of the plan." Shinichi said rolling his eyes.

"So that means she's going to be complaining the whole time?" Hattori said frowning.

"That sounds about right." Shinichi said shrugging.

"Come on now, I'm sure she's not that bad." Hattori said trying to sound optimistic.

"Ah, but you don't know Sonoko nee-chan like I do. She's mean to me sometimes." Shinichi added to keep up his little kid act. But then again, he wasn't sure if it was just to keep up appearances or if it was because it was true. She did put him down a lot, even when they went to primary school together. She was always trying to stop Ran from hanging out with him and he didn't like it, but he never said anything because Ran seemed to really like Sonoko at the time. Of course as they got older, she didn't really change much in his point of view, but at least she wasn't trying to stop Ran from being his friend anymore.

"Really now, do your parents know about this?" Hattori's mom asked in concern.

"No, they're in America right now working." Shinichi explained. He wasn't lying. She frowned.

"So that's why you're staying with Ran-kun and her father?" Shizuka-Oba-san asked.

"Yeah, but it's okay. They call me from time to time and sometimes they come and visit me." Shinichi said feeling a bit uncomfortable. This was going into an area he'd rather not talk about way too fast.

"So, Mom, are you packing us lunch tomorrow?" Hattori asked quickly, changing the conversation. Shinichi sighed in relief as she replied with a yes and started babbling about how much fun they were going to have tomorrow. That was a close one. He thought as he relaxed again and started eating once again. Hattori's mom made Shinichi share the bed with Hattori. Shinichi didn't have anything against Hattori, but he was afraid he'd have that nightmare all over again and wake Hattori up again. Shinichi nervously got into the bed and turned on his side away from Hattori. He was actually very tired, so hopefully he'll have a dreamless night. "Hey Kudo, don't worry about waking me up again. If you do, it's okay." Hattori said awkwardly. Shinichi smiled.

"Okay." He closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately. Shinichi guessed that was mostly due to the fact that he's in a little kid's body.

*I just made up the name, I don't know if it's really the name or not.

**I don't know if they actually do this or not, but again I made it up.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Shinichi woke up the next morning feeling well rested. He got a dreamless night like he wanted and for that he was glad. Hattori was still sleeping, so he went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth and got ready for the day. He was looking forward to camping. He always felt more relaxed. Ran, Sonoko, and Kazuha showed up at the house at 9 like planned. Shinichi wasn't looking forward to spending the next two days with Sonoko complaining, but he didn't really have a choice in it. Since the bruise had disappeared, he didn't have to wear the band aid on his cheek anymore. The group packed up Hattori-san's car and soon they were on their way to the campsite. Since there wasn't much room, Shinichi was forced to sit on Ran's lap again. When this was all over, Ran wasn't going to be happy about finding out that she put him on her lap. Shinichi thought ignoring the smirk on Hattori's face and looking out the window.

She might kick him into the afterlife. Shinichi was definitely not looking forward to that. But then again, she might be too upset to do anything and she probably wouldn't want to talk to Shinichi for a long time. Now that was a depressing thought. Shinichi mentally sighed and turned his attention back to what was going on in the car. It looked as if Kazuha and Hattori were bickering again and Sonoko and Ran were talking about clothes or something. Shinichi really wished he'd brought a book with him. Suddenly his phone went off. It was a message from Ayumi-chan. **Conan-kun do you want to go see the Kamen Yaiba movie next weekend with me, Ai-chan, Genta-kun, and Mitsuhiko-kun** **? The professor said he didn't mind paying for an extra ticket.** Shinichi smiled a little at this and sent a reply saying that he would go. Ayumi-chan seemed to always cheer him up even though she doesn't even realize that he needed it. **Yay! I'll let the professor know! When you get back from Osaka, you have to tell us everything you did!** Shinichi guessed the professor couldn't keep it from them for long. He wondered how much the professor told them, but from her message, it couldn't be much.

 **I look forward to it.** He replied back and then he put his phone away. It wasn't long before the group made it to the campsite and they were setting up camp. By the time they had set up camp though, it was starting to get dark. So they quickly got the fire going and started to make dinner. "Aw, I was hoping to go and hike a little before it got too late." Ran said looking disappointed.

"Well, we can always start tomorrow. We won't be heading back until the morning after tomorrow." Kazuha said smiling at her.

"Oh no, I forgot to call the schools and let them know that Conan-kun and I won't be there Monday!" Ran said wide-eyed.

"You can use this to call the school, Ran-neechan." Shinichi said giving her the phone ear ring that Agasa Hakase made him.

"Oh, I forgot about that! Thanks Conan-kun!" She said smiling.

"You're welcome!" Shinichi said smiling at her.

"I dial the number first, right?" She asked.

"Yup!"

"Oi, Kudo, are ya sure it's okay for her to use that?" Hattori whispered to him.

"Yeah, she's used it before." Shinichi said shrugging.

"Oh,"

"Dinner is almost ready!" Kazuha announced as she put the lid back on the pan.

"It smells good!" Sonoko said smiling brightly. To Shinichi's and Hattori's surprise she hasn't complained yet. But Shinichi had a feeling that she would complain tomorrow during their hike. Later that night, Shinichi was nervous about having another nightmare again. He didn't say anything to Hattori about it though, because he felt like he unloaded a lot of stuff on the poor guy and probably overwhelmed him. But when Shinichi woke the next morning, he found Hattori's arm wrapped around him protectively. The only problem was Hattori had a tight hold on him, so he couldn't move much. Shinichi thought looking at the Osakan annoyed.

"Don't worry, Kudo, I got ya..." Hattori muttered in his sleep before letting go of Shinichi and turning over in his sleep. Shinichi was shocked to hear that. What was his friend dreaming about? Shinichi thought maybe he worried his friend more than he thought and grimaced. He didn't want to worry anyone. But that's what friends were for right? To talk to each other about their problems and worry about the other if something's wrong? At least that's what Shinichi had observed with other people. His observations couldn't have been wrong could they? "What are ya worrying about now?"

"Huh?" Shinichi blinked and saw Hattori looking at him with an eyebrow raised. He hadn't realized he had woken up. "Oh, uh, nothing important."

"Uh-huh," Shinichi knew Hattori wasn't convinced and right when he was about to tell him, he said, "Ya don't have to tell me, but ya know, if we weren't friends, I wouldn't have asked." With that, Hattori got up and left the tent. Shinichi stared after his friend, slightly ashamed. He knew he could tell him whatever was bothering him and he tried to cover it up. Shinichi sighed and got up, stretching slightly before following Hattori out of the tent.

"Ne, Hattori," Shinichi noticed the girls were still sleeping.

"What Kudo?" Shinichi looked away from the Osakan.

"Do you really want to hear the stupid things I'm worrying about?" Shinichi asked feeling doubtful.

"Of course! That's what friends are for, ya aho!" Hattori said scowling at him. Shinichi chuckled.

"I guess I am." Shinichi said smiling.

"I'm confused." Hattori said shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it, I'm not worried anymore." Shinichi said grinning. Hattori shrugged.

"Okay, you want to go fishing while the girls are still sleeping?" Hattori asked.

"Sure," Shinichi finally noticed that the sun was barely even up. After a few hours of fishing and just talking about random cases and pointless stuff, the two returned to the campsite with a pretty good haul.

"There you two are, we were worried." Ran said scowling at them.

"Sorry, Ran-neechan, we sort of woke up early and since we weren't very tired, we went fishing. We didn't want to wake you up." Shinichi said as he and Hattori put the buckets of fish down. She sighed.

"It's okay,"

"Oh, you two were busy I see," Sonoko said sitting down on one of the chairs.

"Yeah, I didn't know this guy was such a good fisher." Hattori said looking down at Shinichi.

"Well, I have been going camping and fishing a lot with Agasa Hakase and the others almost every other weekend." Shinichi said sitting down on a chair too. Plus his dad had taken him fishing quite a few times when he was younger.

"I know, but it's like you're a fish whisperer or something. They just kept coming to you." Hattori said shaking his head.

"I'm not surprised. Conan-kun has always been good with animals." Ran said smiling as she and Kazuha got the pans out to cook breakfast. Shinichi just shrugged when Hattori stared at him. "He even got my mom's cat, Goro-chan, to warm up to him. Goro-chan has never really liked anyone other than my mom."

"Well, it's not hard if you don't yell at him or make it look like you're going to strangle him." Shinichi said rolling his eyes.

"Well, you know how Dad is." Ran said shaking her head.

"Does he not like cats?" Kazuha asked wide-eyed.

"Yes, but he's usually very tolerable to them. But if it's Goro-chan he just goes off." Ran rolled her eyes. Everyone else chose not to comment on this. They knew the only reason he would do that is because of Ran's mom.


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue

Monday came around faster than Shinichi expected and soon he and Ran were entering the house. Shinichi had his souvenir he got for Occhan hidden behind his back as they entered the office portion of the house. "Otou-san, Conan-kun and I are home." Ran announced walking over to Occhan's desk. Occhan himself was lying on his arms and sleeping on the desk. "Otou-san," Ran shook him lightly. Occhan jolted up and looked around the room in shock. Ran giggled. "Otou-san, we're home." He sighed.

"Welcome back... wait," He looked over at Shinichi finally.

"We're back." Shinichi said smiling. "Guess what I got you from the zoo Kazuha-neechan and Heiji-niichan took me to?" He sat the pencil holder on his desk so Occhan could see it.

"Yoko-chan?" Occhan asked, blinking slowly.

"Yeah, I thought since you didn't have this one, that you'd like it." Shinichi barely noticed Ran slipping out of the room as Occhan got up from his desk and stopped in front of Shinichi.

"I'm sorry for hitting you. I shouldn't have done that." He said looking guilty. Shinichi smiled.

"It's okay, I know you didn't mean to." Suddenly, Shinichi found himself being hugged. He was shocked, but smiled.

"Thank you for forgiving me and thank you for the souvenir." Shinichi grinned as Occhan let him go and sat back down at the desk and looked at the new pencil holder. "Say, does that zoo have any more of these?" Shinichi frowned.

"I don't think so. I think that one was the last one." He said thoughtfully.

"Good!" Occhan said before laughing that 'I'm-more-superior-than-you' laugh. Shinichi shook his head, just glad that Occhan wasn't moping around the house anymore. Ran came back into the room with a wide smile and started telling Occhan about what happened that weekend.


End file.
